lapham



(No Modem D. W. LAPHAM.

8 FOUNTAIN PEN. No. 878,778. y 112888118871 Jan. 84, 1888.

N. Prrzns. mjpmgnhbmpu, washington D4 C.l

. UNITED STATES f DANIEL w. LAPHAM, OE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AssiGNOETO JosEPHINE M. LAPHAM, OE sAME PLAGE. i

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 376,778, dated January 24, 1888. Application yfiled April 30, 1887. Serial No. 236,700. v(No model.)

To all whom it may concern: i Be it known that I, DANIEL W. LAPHAM, of

/ Brooklyn, inthe county of Kings, andin the parts in each of theigures.

State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l shows a perspective View of my pen; Fig. 2, a view of a central longitudinal section of the pen enlarged; Fig. 3, an enlarged detail perspectivefview of the mouth-piece or nozzle removed from the holder; Fig. 4, a view of a transverse section on line w x of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a detail perspective view of the feed device removed from the nozzle; and Fig. 6, a similar,view of the feed device, looking at the under side ofthe same. f

Letters of like name and kind 'refer to like The object-of my invention is to provide an improved fountain-pen. in which, while the feeding of the ink tothe pen-point is more certain, ready, and free than in fountain-pens as heretofore made, the danger of iiooding is avoided and removed; and to this end my invention consists in the fountain-pen, and in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the parts thereof, as hereinafter specified.

vfeeding of the ink has been free, flooding has been liable to occur, necessitating very careful handling ofthe pen. These have/been the vital objections to this class of pens as heretofore made. n

With the object of providing apen which can be handled, and used freely and safely, as

for business writing, and which will always bev ready for use and will not.skip even the first strokes, I haveinvented thepen which I will now proceed to-describe at length. v

In the drawings, A designates the main part or holder of the pen, which, as is usual with fountain-pens, is made hollow and forms the ink receptacle or reservoir. Into fthe,l

point, as indicated in dotted lines.l Extending centrally through the nozzle B is the plain cylindrical opening or passage D, and fitting within such passageisthefeed piece or plug E, of a peculiar construction.

TheVpen-point or pen proper, F, is a pen of theV ordinary construction, as shown, and its shank issimplypressed intothe lowerend of v themouthjpiece, so as to engage the opposite sides of the interior thereof. yThe feed piece or plug E is slotted or forked to embrace the i upper and lower sides of the pen-point shank,

as shown best in Figs. 2 and 5.' VIt has'the short prong or projection e engaging the un der or concave side of the shank of the pen-l Y point F, and the long tongue or prong `e overlapping said shank and projecting ont over the same well down over the usual slit in the penpoint. This tongue c is preferably thinned down, asshown, along itsouter portion, so. as

to be-quite iiexiblc, 'and to bend easily up ward` as the pen-point is bent up in making the strokes in the process of writing'.

' rIhe feed piece or plug E is preferably made. of hard rubber or gutta-percha, as such material is not affected or corroded by the ink, andV 'as the tongue e', made on the piece of rsuch material, has the desirable iiexibility and elasticity.

The `inner or upper portion of thev feed-piece extends well up into the reservoir, y and is slit or slotted in two different planesat right angles toeach. rWith the pen held horizontall y with the'top yor convex sideof the pen proper or pen`point upward onel of these slits or vslots Ve2 is made in a vertical and the other e3, in a horizontal plane.y The latter slit or split does not extend as far toward the outer end of the feedpiece as the other.

At the upper side of the feed-piece E the split or slot c is continued down toward the lower end of the pie'e until it intersects with the penpoint-receiving slot efand extends some distance over the top of the 'pen-point shank. n With the pen F in position and with the tongue e pressing upon the top of the penpoint shank the elongated opening formed by the said intersection ofthe slit c2 with slot e" will be normally closed by said shank. Such construction andarrangement serve to effectually prevent flooding or the running of the ink down out of the reservoir over the penpoint F when the pen is not in use, as the only .outward passage for the ink from the reservoir is through split or slit e2. The downward or outward extension of this split or slot does not and should not reach to the slit in the penpoint. If it did, a free and open channel would normally be left, as in pens heretofore made, from the reservoir to the slit in the pen-point, and ooding would take place. I therefore prefer to have the extension of slit or slot e stop short of the slit in such point.

The splitting or slitting of the inner portion of the feed-piece in two planes, as described, leaves four ii'exible prongs projecting well into the reservoir for conducting the ink down therefrom. Such prongs are preferably spread apart somewhat, as shown in the drawings, so

f as to make the slits e2 and e3 larger at their inner or upper ends, and from there tapering downward and outward toward the pen-point. As I have found, when the slits are of this shape, the ink is best and most surely conducted from the reservoir and fed downward and outward to the pen-point.

By the action of capillary attraction the ink in the reservoir in contact with the four prongs on the feed-piece and with the larger ends of the slits will be drawn toward the narrower portions of the slits. There will then be a constant supply of ink from the reservoir to the outward end or extension of the slit Zand consequently to the top of the shank of the pen-point.

With the pen not in use and the upper tongue, e', on the feed-piece lying fiat on the top of the pen-point shank the ink is prevented from running freely down and ont over the pen-point, while a little creeps down between the tongue and the shank by capillary attraction. This is just enough to keep the slit in the pen-point moistened ready for use. With the tongue e lying flat on the pen-point shank this capillary attraction is very slight and not such as to cause the ink to be drawn outward, so as to run off of the pen-point and flood.

When the pen is used and the pen-point is bent upward, as in making the strokes in writquently such shank does not close the opening With the feed-piece fitting the nozzle or mouth-piece, as described, the inner surface of the nozzle closes the upper side of the extension of the slit or split e2, which intersects with the pen-holding slot, thus making the slit-extension a channel and preventing any llow of ink along the top of the tongue e.

As will be seen in the drawings, the top of tongue e is concaved beyond the end of slot et, and the feed-piece on its lower side is cut away at e, thus leaving within the nozzle end an outwardflarin g space around the feed-piece to collect and hold any ink that may flow down in excess of that needed for the pen when first used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. In a fountainpen, in combination with the reservoir and the nozzle or mouthpiece, the pen-point in such nozzle, and the feedLpiece projecting up into the reservoir, having the tongue extending down over the pen-point and having the slot extending from its inner end outward to a point in the tongue over the penpoint shank, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a fountain-pen, in combination with the reservoir and the nozzle or mouth-piece, the pen-point and the feedpiece having the tongue projecting out along the top ofthe penpoint, and provided with an ink-passage ex# tending along the tongue to a point on the penpoint short of the slit therein, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

3. In combination with the ink-reservoir, the nozzle, and the pen-point, the feed-piece having the part projecting into the reservoir provided with an outwardly-tapering slit for the passage of the ink, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with the ink-rescrvoir and the penApoint-holding piece, the feed-piece having its portion extending into the reservoir-split and having a passage from this split to the pen-point, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described'.

5. In combination with the ink-reservoir and the nozzle on the saine, the feed-piece in the nozzle split longitudinally on two planes substantially at right angles to each other, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

G. In combination with the ink-reservoir and the nozzle thereon, the pen-point, the feedpiece having the tongue extending down along the penpoint and having its body slit or split longitudinally on two planes, and one of the slits extended down along the tongue, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

7. In combination with the nozzle, the feedpiece fitting therein, having at its outer end the pen-point-receiving slot, and the tongue to engage the top ofthe pen-point and having its inner portion split, so that the split communicates with the pen-point-receiving slot, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In combination with the nozzle or mouth- IOO l376,778 i Y 3 piece, the-feed-piece provided with a tapering slit or slot extending from its inner end, and

having on its outer end the pen-point-receiving slot intersecting the forward or outward 5 end of the slit in the piece, and the tongue to engage the top of the pen-point shank, substantially as and for the purpose shownL and described.

9. In combination with the nozzle, the lon- 1o gitudinally-split feed-piece fitting therein,hav

ing the tongue to engage the top of the'penpoint and the slot to receive the penin cornmunication at its upper sidel with a split iny the feed-piece, substantially as and for the 15 purpose specified. Y 10. The feed-piece for use in fountain-pens,

consisting of the longitudinallysplit body provided .with the pen-point-,receiving slot in communication with the split in the body of 2o the piece, and the tongue for engaging the top ofthe penpoint, substantially as and for the purpose shown. v Y

1l. YThe feed-piece for use in fountain-pens, having the tongue for engaging the top of the pen-point, the pointfreceiving slot, andthe 25 longitudinal tapering slo't or slit communica# ing with the pen-receiving slot', substantially as and for the purpose set forth. g

12. The feed-piece for use in fountain-pens, having the pen-point-receiving slot and the tongue'to extend along the pen-point,and hav! different planes, and one Yof the splits in communication with pen-point-receiving slot, sub'- v stantially as and for the purpose shown. and 35 DANIEL W. LAPHAM.v

Vitnesses:

, T. MAYNARD,

WM. F. PITKIN.

ing its main and inner portion split in two l 

